Cornwall Council elections, 1920
The Cornwall Council elections in 1920 was the first ever elections to the newly created settlement of Cornwall and to have an elected devolved body to control local matters which could improve the lives of the citizens in the town. The major issues of the day were such matters like the powers of the council, settling, construction and matters of trading and fishing. Before the elections, three political parties were founded to run a list of candidates which could reflect the views of the population. Three political parties were founded the Cornish Progressive Party, Conservatives, and the Moderate Party. The Cornish Progressive Party won in a two day election, nine seats, with the CPP winning eight single districts seat, and the Council Presidency. Through the next five years as economic matters would worsen a bit, the CPP passed economic regulations, passed the rules and election laws on the Council itself, giving it a Westminster style of approach and much power over the land in Cornwall. In addition the Baxter Primary School was created by the Council, named after the first Mayor of Cornwall, Craig Baxter. In addition the the powers of the council, it could pass a budget and tax citizens on matters of Income and Property. Income tax was imposed on the richest of citizens at 2.9%, and a property tax of 1%. District Elections Results By individual district the Cornish Progressive Party had won three out of the four seats, and 49% of the vote. Mayor Craig Baxter won his seat just by two votes over Moderate Party member Ben Reginald after two recounts. The proportional representation was about the same as well reflecting the choice in trust in the Progressive Party. 1920 Cornwall Single District elections |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Parties !Votes !% !Seats |- |bgcolor="#1E90FF"| |align="left"|Cornish Progressive Party |98 |49% |3 |- |bgcolor="#FF4500"| |align="left"|Conservatives |76 |38% |1 |- |bgcolor="#DC143C"| |align="left"|Moderate Party |26 |13% |0 |- |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Total !200 !align="center" colspan="2"|100% |} District Northwest District Northwest during this election was mostly comprised of businesses and homes near docks. 1920 District Northwest |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Candidates !Votes !% |- |bgcolor="#1E90FF"| |align="left"|Jason Scawen |35 |64% |- |bgcolor="#FF4500"| |align="left"|Kenneth Stokes |20 |36% |- |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Total !55 !align="center" colspan="2"|100% |} District Northeast District Northeast during this election included such places like the Docks, Cornwall Town Square and some smaller residential homes. Two recounts were done on the voting and Craig Baxter just beat dockworker Ben Reginald, brother to Moderate Party leader, just by two votes. Craig Baxter would become the first Mayor of Cornwall. 1920 District Northeast |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Candidates !Votes !% |- |bgcolor="#1E90FF"| |align="left"|Craig Baxter |19 |49% |- |bgcolor="#DC143C"| |align="left"|Ben Reginald |17 |37% |- |bgcolor="#FF4500"| |align="left"|Frank Trelawny |11 |23% |- |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Total !47 !align="center" colspan="2"|100% |} District Southwest District Southwest has always been known for a more conservative streak in its history. Conservatives leader Thomas Ross started that in 1920 by winning the District, in a three way race, with over 60% of the vote. Many shops and some residential communities are located here. Moderate Party leader Chris Reginald lost and was removed as leader. 1920 District Southwest |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Candidates !Votes !% |- |bgcolor="#FF4500"| |align="left"|Thomas Ross |30 |61% |- |bgcolor="#1E90FF"| |align="left"|Ellias Jones |16 |33% |- |bgcolor="#DC143C"| |align="left"|Chris Reginald |3 |6% |- |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Total !49 !align="center" colspan="2"|100% |} District Southeast District Southeast has always been the smallest of the districts because more people live in the southeast than any other part of Cornwall. George Oswald won this district for the Cornish Progressive Party and served in it until his death in 1938. 1920 District Southeast |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|candidates !Votes !% |- |bgcolor="#1E90FF"| |align="left"|George Oswald |28 |57% |- |bgcolor="#FF4500"| |align="left"|Cameron Wintz |15 |31% |- |bgcolor="#DC143C"| |align="left"|Frank Levit |6 |12% |- |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Total !49 !align="center" colspan="2"|100% |} Council Presidency The Council Presidency race was very intense considering the day and size of the settlement. Then candidate, Mark Madison was said to have met everyone in the town in one day at least seven times in the four weeks of campaigning. Conservatives candidates Gregory Wintz is said to have done the same once, two days before voting day. The Moderate Party didn't have the resources to run a candidate in the election, and because of it suffered badly in the district and proportional representation elections. Mark Madison was supported by both business and the Cornish Seamen's Union. 1920 Council Presidency |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|candidates !Votes !% |- |bgcolor="#1E90FF"| |align="left"|Mark Madison |114 |57% |- |bgcolor="#FF4500"| |align="left"|Gregory Wintz |85 |43% |- |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Total !199 !align="center" colspan="2"|100% |} Proportional Representation Party Leader and Mayor Craig Baxter led a campaign to build a Progressive base within the City that also led to voters supporting the Party on all three elections. This including gaining the support of the businessmen, dockers, and fishers in Cornwall. Conservatives went mainly for the residential and more affluent citizens which helped in the Southwest of the city but didn't translate into any more support. The first candidate for the Conservatives and Party leader on the list Barry Winters, was elected. The Moderate Party was only able to get one councilor in the entire elections and this came from the proportional vote. The Cornish Progressive Party won five of the ten seats, getting just about 50% of the vote, while the Conservatives won four seats and the Moderate Party in third place with one seat, their only version of representation on the Council. 1920 Proportional representation |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Parties !Votes !% !Seats |- |bgcolor="#1E90FF"| |align="left"|Cornish Progressive Party |99 |50% |5 |- |bgcolor="#FF4500"| |align="left"|Conservatives |80 |40% |4 |- |bgcolor="#DC143C"| |align="left"|Moderate Party |20 |10% |1 |- |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" !colspan="2" align="left"|Total !199 !align="center" colspan="2"|100% |} Category:Local politics Category:Cornwall Category:Clymene Category:Election